


The Chariot Race

by peaches6creme



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-06
Updated: 2015-01-06
Packaged: 2018-03-06 07:16:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3125711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peaches6creme/pseuds/peaches6creme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“She touched the suits and jackets she used to wear before the kids, before this enormous house and before Peeta’s business took off.”  They lived a fairytale: two teens consumed by love fight all odds and end up married with children living a life of luxury. But not all is what it seems.  Explore K&P as they deal with the largest test of their marriage.  Modern AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Chariot Race

**Katniss POV**

 

Beep. Beep. Beep.

 

Katniss groaned as she woke up from the incessant sound of her alarm as she did every Monday through Friday at 6:30am. That sound was a constant reminder of the mundane life she had been living for the past four years, since her oldest started pre-school.

 

It’s not that Katniss didn’t love taking care of her children, but the only thing she had to look forward to everyday was getting them ready for school, dropping them off, cleaning, laundry, picking them up, soccer practice, ballet, piano, karate, dinner, homework, sleep, again. She had been a mom for so long that she lost herself somewhere in the jumble.

 

Katniss didn’t have to open her eyes to know that her work-a-holic husband was not lying next to her. She placed her hand on his side of the bed and could tell it was already cold, meaning he’s had been gone for a while, probably since 5 this morning. How he left the bed every morning without waking her up was a mystery, but still he managed to do it everyday.

 

She reached up to turn off the alarm and knocked over a glass of water with a note placed gently over it. She knew what the note said without having to open it:

Girl on Fire,

I love you more today than yesterday.

Love Peeta

Girl on Fire was a nickname she got in college, when one night while having sex, she knocked over a candle and set the curtains on fire. It was an inside joke between the two of them. This was the same note he left every Monday, probably to make up for the fact that she hardly ever saw him.

 

Katniss opened up the now wet note anyway and saw a crushed dandelion fall out. This small detail was new; he must be feeling nostalgic. The dandelion was a symbol from their youth when they were poor and desperate to leave their mothers to chase the world together.

 

Every time the dandelions were in full blooms, they would go to the meadow by Uncle Haymich’s house and blow on the seeds, wishing for whatever their heart desired. When they were just getting to know each other, the wishes were superficial like ‘I wish for a million dollars’ or ‘I wish for a car on my 16th birthday,’ but as they grew to know other year after year, the wishes became more serious like, ‘I wish my mom would get better,’ or ‘I wish my mom would stop hitting me.’

 

The last time they went to that field was the spring after Prim died and she blew hundreds maybe thousands of dandelions wishing that the death was a dream. All Peeta could do was hold her.

 

She stepped out of the bed and headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower. The shower was probably her second favorite part of the day, because she had the time reflect and think about what her life should have been like:  A foresting job, a husband who was a baker and came home at 5, 2 happy well adjusted children.

 

The shower was marble with two his and her showerheads and a glass door. Directly outside of the shower, there were heated tiles, which instantly warm her up. This was a feature Peeta demanded when they renovated the house, and is a luxury that she was embarrassed to say, she loved, especially considering how much it cost.

 

She walked to the sink to brush her teeth and put on a little make up, out of habit mostly, some mascara, eyeliner, bronzer and lip-gloss. On the counter of her sink sat her jewelry box. She opened it up as she did every morning and looked at the simple gold necklace with one pearl at the end.

 

Katniss recalled the moment that he gave it to her: the summer after their senior year when they made love for the first time. Peeta told her he had been carrying it around for a while and just never felt the time was right. It wasn’t a proposal, he said, but rather a promise that he would always be there for her, love her and cherish her, and if the time was ever right, he would marry her. After that speech her heart was racing partly out of fear from such a forever promise, but she looked in his eyes, knew he wasn’t lying and took the gift, wearing it everyday.

 

But one night three weeks ago, Peeta spent all night at the office at a time when both of her children were simultaneously fighting an infection. She asked him repeatedly to come home but he didn’t because of some dealings with a company in China, and the promise the necklace symbolized broke for the final time. She could no longer look at it without feeling extreme anger or extreme sadness.

 

Katniss slammed the jewelry box closed and walked from the bathroom directly to the closet to pick out something to wear. The closet alone was bigger than house she grew up in, with more shoes and cocktail dress that she wanted. She typically only wore those for Peeta’s business events and dinners, and he bought her a new one each time. Her body wandered to the back of the closet and she touched the suits and jackets she used to wear before the kids, before this enormous house and before Peeta’s business took off.

 

However, today, like everyday, she was mommy, nothing more and nothing less, so she quickly put on jeans, a blouse, blazer and a scarf. She grabbed her uggs, another luxury she loved, and left the closet for the kitchen.

 

The kitchen in the house was comparable to a chef’s kitchen with all state of the art appliances and features. There were granite counter tops, an attached bar, a Keurig, an espresso machine and a state of the art juicer that no one ever used. It would be fitting for her baker husband if he ever had time to use it, and Katniss’s abilities in the kitchen were limited to pasta, salad, grilled cheese, eggs and meat.

 

She put a K-cup in and walked up the stairs to her daughter’s room to wake her up. Her daughter had a large room with a full sized canopy bed, a desk, dresser and a small couch.  Peeta painted the most beauty mural on the wall of the lake that they used to go fishing, mostly because it was Willow’s favorite place in the world, and partly because it was where she was conceived.

 

“Willow”, Katniss said as she patted her daughter’s head, “Willow, honey, wake up its time for school.”

 

Willow looked up at her mom with her beautiful blue eyes and grumbled something while dragging herself out of bed. Katniss used to help her with everything from picking out school clothes to doing her hair but Willow informed her mother a week before 2st grade that “she was a big girl and could do it herself.”

 

Luckily this year, Willow had to wear uniforms to school because her weekend outfits never seem to match. Next, Katniss walked to her big boy, Ryan’s (Rye for short), slightly smaller room. Katniss was still allowed to help him get ready for Pre-K, so she picked out his clothes, and helped him pack his backpack every night before bed.

 

He looked and her with his gray eyes, and gave her a smile that was identical to Peeta’s. Katniss picked him up and took him to the bathroom. She watched him brush his teeth, checked to make sure they were clean, and told him to get dressed before heading back to the kitchen to make breakfast and lunch.

 

Katniss watched her kids eat their breakfast, while sipping her coffee. Willow was very excited to find out they would be eating cheese buns instead of their normal English muffin in addition to fruit, scrambled eggs and milk.

 

While stuffing her face with cheese buns, Willow looked up to her mother, pushed her dark brown curls out of her face and said “Mommy, don’t forget that you signed up to be room mom for the back to school party this Friday. You have to bring candy and cookies. My favorites are sugar cookies and chocolate chip. Cindy’s mom brought cupcakes at the end of school party last year and they were gross. Maybe you can bring cupcakes too? And candy?”

 

“I want Candy,” Rye said giggling. He was such a happy 4 year old.

 

Katniss smiled at her bossy daughter and touched her daughter’s hair, “I won’t forget baby, I promise, and no candy for you Rye, until Halloween. I think we need to pick out costumes soon so we can get them in the mail on time. I am going to be an evil witch… Muhahahaha.”

 

“But mom,” Rye said, “Witches are scary, you’re not scary, you’re mommy.”

 

“I am mommy,” Katniss said while she reached out to tickle Rye and watched him break into a fit full of giggles, “But I can be scary sometimes too.”

 

Willow, getting bored with the conversation, screeched, “I’m gonna have the best costume ever. I’m want to be Elsa,” and she began to scream the lyrics to Let it Go, while Rye began repeating, “Power Rangers.”

 

Katniss smiled at this noise. There was a time when she was younger that she didn’t have the energy to say _anything_ , and knowing that they do makes her happy. This must be why Peeta worked so much, to make sure her innocent children could do this. When they quieted down, Rye whispered, “What does daddy want to be.”

 

Willow scoffed, “Daddy doesn’t come to Halloween Rye, he works.” Rye’s face fell and Katniss’s heart clinched. Now that Willow understood more about Peeta’s absence, Katniss couldn’t make excuses that would soothe things over; her daughter never believed her any more. She’s going to have to tell Peeta how much Willow was starting to understand, and hopefully it will have some affect on him.

 

“Alright, time to go,” Katniss stated. They put their plates in the sink, grabbed their bags and headed to the car. Katniss strapped them into their designated seats and drove them the 10 minutes it took to get to school.

 

It’s almost amazing that this school was just a Pre-K3 through 12 because it looked like a college campus. Katniss was vehemently opposed to private school, but Peeta begged and argued with her, telling her about the value of education and their future and she caved, as usual.

 

Willow had just started 2nd grade and Rye was inPreK4, and they both loved it. Katniss had to admit that after spending time with the parents and administrators, she did appreciate the family-like feeling of the school. She stepped out of the with them, kissed them both on their heads and sent them on their way, quickly snapping a picture of them as they ran towards their friends.

 

She texted Peeta the picture and typed: Dropped the Kiddos off.

He loved getting these because he never had time to drop them off in the morning. Not once.

Peeta: So cute.

 

Katniss: Don’t forget back to school party this Friday, Willow wants cupcakes and cookies for class.

 

Peeta: Consider them made. Anything I can get for the big boy?

 

Katniss: Anything. He has a sweet tooth just like you.

 

Peeta: And what about you? Anything I can get for my wife?

 

Katniss: I want what you gave me last night.

 

Katniss: I miss you.

 

Peeta: I miss you too. I’ll see if I can get home early tonight.

 

He didn’t respond after that, and she knew that he would try, but more than likely he would stay at work late.

 

The first thing Katniss did after dropping them off was run for 3 miles. After, she cleaned their home, did the laundry and pulled some meat out of the freezer for dinner.

 

Katniss texted her husband again: Dinner tonight?

 

He didn’t respond immediately, but around 30 minutes later he said: Sorry.

 

Her heart clenched again at this response but she wasn’t surprised, he wouldn’t make it home early.

 

Katniss wished that Peeta would just once make more of an effort at home, because she was tired of doing this by herself. Being a single parent was utterly exhausting, and something had to change, because she drowning.

 

Katniss never thought she would have children because she grew up going hungry some nights and never wanted to bear the responsibility of watching her children starve. All of that changed when she started dating Peeta in high school. They had known each other their entire lives in the small miner town, Panem, where they grew up, but one day, after her childhood friend, Gale, left for college, Peeta finally had the courage to ask Katniss on a date.

 

On their first date, with both of their limited budgets, they went on a picnic and Peeta spent hours talking about the sunset, and all of the colors involved in painting one. She realized that she just loved to watch him talk, and from that moment on, they were inseparable. They continued dating all through college, and when they both graduated, he proposed. They moved to the Pittsburgh area, and Peeta purchased and began working for his own bakery, while Katniss worked at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health to increase mining health.

 

When Peeta worked at the bakery, things were simple. He would wake up early, but was always home by 5. They would go on dates, vacations, dance under the stars, have sex and sleep in each other’s arms almost every night.

 

Things changed when Katniss accidentally got pregnant 8 years ago, when she was 25. She cried herself to sleep for weeks, and he was the one to convince her that babies were a blessing. HE convinced her that this would be good for them, that THEY would raise THEIR daughter together. That had been a lie. Peeta was so excited that eventually his excitement was infectious, but during her second trimester, he got the opportunity to expand his business and jumped on the idea. ‘I did it for us, all of us,’ he told her that night when they fought about it. 

 

Almost overnight, Peeta’s hours were doubled, and he had business trips every other weekend to find investors. On the day Katniss went to labor, Peeta was overnight in New York, and barely made it back for the birth of Willow.

 

While Willow was a blessing that she loved very much, THEY were not raising her, SHE was. Somehow, he managed to miss every soccer game, recital and parent teacher conference for their little girl. Every time she got in trouble at school, it was Katniss that had to come pick her up, every time she was sick, Katniss sang her to sleep.

 

With Rye, her feelings on the pregnancy were different. She was excited to have an addition to her family, and she thought it meant Peeta would be home more. She spent weeks thinking of the perfect way to tell him, but with his hours and her increased drowsiness, it was proving to be very difficult. Finally, she decided that she would send him a ‘Congratulations, You’re a Dad’ teddy bear at work, and sign it with a card that said, “Come home, I have something to tell you, - Katniss.”

 

When he got the bear he sped home and saw her standing in the kitchen with her pregnancy stick. He ran to her and lifted her up in the air. Willow came into the kitchen lifted her hands, wanting to join the excitement, and said “Daddy.” He placed Katniss down, to pick up his little girl, and at that moment, they were at peace.

 

For the second pregnancy, Peeta came home everyday at 6pm. He gave her massages, rubbed her feet and made her every type of food she begged for. When the baby was born, Peeta stayed home for 3 weeks straight to help, and after the three weeks, he went back to work. Slowly, his 5am – 11:30pm hours returned and Katniss was left at home with two young children alone.

 

On one side, Katniss was happy that Peeta works hard to provide. He single handedly made sure that they could afford food, college tuition and a place to live, all things that were important to her. On the other hand, she resented him for leaving her alone most days, forcing her to look at the disappointment on her children’s faces when he would miss an event.

 

While she was ironing some of Willow’s school shirts, the phone rang from an unknown number.

 

“Hello,” Katniss answered.

 

“Hello, is Katniss there,” said a man on the phone.

 

“This is she,” she responded.

 

“Oh hello, this is Beetee from the Carnegie Melon, you applied for a position a few weeks ago and I want to schedule a time for you to interview,” said the man on the phone.

 

A few weeks ago, Katniss ran into an old co-worker who suggested that she apply for a job at the university. Katniss sent in her resume, but had very little faith she would even get a call considering how much time she has taken off to raise her children, this call was a pleasant surprise.

 

“Great! What day works for you?” Katniss squeaked, trying to contain her excitement.

 

“What about Wednesday, at 9am?” Beetee said.

 

“That’s perfect… great, see you there,” responded Katniss before she hung up to call Peeta.

 

First she called his cell phone, but it went straight to voicemail. Next, she called his assistant, a younger girl names Annie who was the wife of Peeta’s business partner.

 

Annie answered the phone only to tell Katniss that Peeta was taking a long lunch, whatever that means. She decided to just text him, because he must be extremely busy today. One thing she could always rely on is Peeta picking up his phone.

 

Katniss: Have a job interview Wednesday at 9.

 

She didn’t mention the job to him specifically, but expressed her desire to get back to work a few weeks ago and he encouraged her. Her phone rang again, but this time it is from Peeta. It appears this bit of information was too big for a simple for a text.

 

“Hello,” Peeta said in a breathy voice, like he had been running.

 

“Hey Peeta. Thanks for calling,” Katniss responded stiffly.

 

“Of course! Congrats babe! What’s the company? I didn’t even know you were applying for anything,” he whispered. He must have stepped out of a meeting to talk to her. The thought made Katniss smile.

 

Through her smile, she gave him all of the details, and he suggested that they celebrate her accomplishment this week.

 

“You don’t even know if I got the job Peeta,” she giggled, surprised that despite how angry she was with him earlier, he still brought out the giggling girl in her.

 

“Oh I know you got it,” he said in a low voice. “They would be complete fools to not give it to you.”

 

“Okay Mr. Confident, what do you having in mind for celebrating?” she asks in a low raspy voice.

 

Peeta groaned over the phone, “ I wish I could leave early today, Kat, but I just can’t. We should…. I can get out of the office early on Wednesday.”

 

“Great! I will call a babysitter,” she said sounding slightly disappointed, but still hopeful for a date night. “I will see you then.”

 

He paused and with a confused tone and replied, “See you tonight.”

 

Katniss completed the day by picking the kids up from school and taking them to their after school activities. She made burgers and sat with her children, listening to the excitement of their day. This was hands-down her favorite part of the day.

 

Every dinner, her children talked animatedly about their day, their friends, and their classes. One night a few weeks ago, Willow demonstrated a new dance she learned from her friend, Lilith, which was essentially a new, more complicated version of the Macarena. When she tried to teach Rye, he ended up falling on his butt and everyone busted out in giggles.

 

Tonight there were no demonstrations, but Rye started talking excitedly about his new art project and his best friend Patrick, who is the class clown. Willow babbled about science and the volcano that their teacher built.

 

After tucking them in, Katniss grabbed a beer out of the fridge and sat alone on the couch reading until 9:00pm when she decided to get ready for bed. She was startled awake at 11:30pm, when Peeta dipped in the bed behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his front whispering, “Night Kat.” They both sighed in serenity when they connected and fell into a deep sleep.

 

When Wednesday arrived, Katniss woke up before the alarm, excited that this interview would turn a new leaf for her. She got ready for her job interview by putting on a little bit more makeup, and pulling out a suit from her former life. She dropped the kids off at school, and waited desperately for a ‘Good Luck’ text from her husband, but it never came. Instead of getting angry, Katniss turned off her phone to avoid any distraction.

 

Most of the interview was standard. She spent every hour interviewing with a different member of the environmental team. The first interview was with Beetee, the second with a woman named Johanna and the third with a super-model looking woman named Cashmere, whom she couldn’t stop staring at. That girl was never coming next to her husband, She thought to herself

 

Her last hour was a lunch interview with her boss’s second hand man. She was waiting in the lobby of the building at 12:15pm, when she saw Gale walk inside.

 

“Gale,” she screamed loudly. When he noticed her, his face grew into a smile that took over half his face and he rushed towards her. He lifted her in the air, and gave her a lung-crushing hug that lasted 5 seconds longer than was comfortable and put her back down.

 

Her father and Gale’s had been best friends since birth, and that tradition continued for Gale and Katniss until the summer after he graduated high school. He was one of the luck ones with a full ride out of town, but he was considering turning the scholarship down to stay.

 

After several arguments between the two, Gale finally admitted that the reason he couldn’t leave was because of her. Katniss exploded at this revelation reminding him that in spite of the rumors, they were only best friends and telling him that she didn’t love him that way. Then to guarantee that he wouldn’t try to convince her, Katniss added the final blow, “And I never will.”

 

He left that conversation heart broken, and a week later, he left Panem and never returned. She had not seen him since. But now, years later after all she had been through, and with how lonely she had been feeling, he is the only person she wanted to see.

 

“Hey Catnip,” Gale responded, still with that smile. She loved Gale’s smile. They used to say in her town that all Gale had to do to get a girl at the slagheap was give them an award winning smile. When he left heart broken for college, she realized that those rumors  were 100% true.

 

“What are you doing here? Are you my last interview?” she asked trying to catch her breath. 

 

“Yes. Let me introduce myself properly. Gale Hawthorne, Second-Hand? man.”  He put his hand out towards her, and she shook it quickly.

 

“Katniss Mellark, interviewee,” she replied while smiling at how ridiculous the introductions were She saw his smile drop slightly when she used her last name.

 

“Let’s start walking.”

 

The began to walk towards the restaurant in comfortable silence, both thinking about things they didn’t need to say like, ‘Good to see you,’ ‘I missed you at Prim’s funeral,’ and ‘You look the same.’

 

When they were seated at the restaurant, Gale looked at her with eyes that said everything, “It’s been a while… and now I’m hereto interview you so lets get started.” She loved Gale for that, keeping her focused and distracting her from the past.

 

At first, they talked about what she would be doing while employed, analyzing climate change in different parts of the world, but after the first course of their lunch, Gale leaned in a little closer as if to tell her a secret, and Katniss did the same.

 

“So I’m going to be honest,” Gale stated abruptly, “You got the job. There will probably be a formal phone call and package including medical and a retirement plan. But I know you Catnip,” he paused to look at her, “I want you to work here more than anyone but one thing about these people, even I had to get used to it, is that everyone in the department is nosey as fuck.”

 

Katniss’s mouth dropped at the used of the word at the formal interview, but was happy because that’s how they used to talk.

 

Gale chuckled a little, “What I mean is they will pry into your private life. They will want to meet your kids, take you out for your birthday, beg you to go to happy hour, go over each other’s house, the whole nine. It’s hard to get used to, ” he said while looking at her ring, the platinum band with a single stone that Peeta gave her when they were barely scraping by.

 

Katniss laughed at this, feeling a little overwhelmed. She hadn’t really had friends in so long, besides Peeta of course, that she probably wouldn’t know what to do. She did appreciate that he told her about the social aspect of the job beforehand, but she knew if offered, she would take it no matter what.

 

“That’s something I can be okay with,” Katniss responded. He looked at her almost doubtful, but shrugged his shoulders and put a shy smile on his face.

 

“So tell me Catnip how long have you been married? Any kids?”

 

Katniss began to shift in her seat, a little uncomfortable that the prying had already started so soon,  “10 years. 2 kids. What about you?”

 

Gale responded, “I’m not married. I’m divorced actually,” he said while rubbing the back of his next, “I guess I haven’t found that person… and I have one boy. He’s 3.”

 

“I’m still not sure I found that person,” she scoffed softly, before realizing what she said out loud. Gale choked on his water at her outburst.

 

“I’m sorry,” Katniss said while blushing, “That was unprofessional and I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

 

Gale knew not to push for too much information so fast, so he waited a while before responding. 

 

“No Katniss, its okay. We used to be friends, and maybe that will happen again, right? So which Mellark stole your heart?”

 

“Peeta. The youngest,” she replied curtly.

 

Gale, choosing to ignore how uncomfortable she was becoming, continued, “Ohh. He’s the one with all the bakeries. I see more Mellark bakeries than Panera breads.”

 

Katniss let out a small smile, but didn’t reply.

 

Sensing she was beginning to shut down, he changed the conversation to something they both loved: hunting. He caught her up on what his family was doing, and she told him how Uncle Haymich and Aunt Maysilee were doing **.** He told her how sorry he was to hear about Prim, and she replied with a small ‘Thank you.’ Gale talked about Posy’s first college boyfriend and the threats he made to the freshman when he drove down to Panem’s local college to threaten him. By the end of the lunch, they were both relaxed and smiling from ear to ear.

 

 

After the interview, she picked up Rye from after school care, and came home with a smile on her face. Rye seemed to notice, because he asked her why she was happy. It must be a rare occurrence if her kid asked her.

 

“Mommy got a job,” Katniss said.

 

Rye grew silent after that and he asked in a soft, delicate voice, “A job like daddy?”

She bent down and looked at him studying his face that is so much like his father’s, “Not like daddy.”

 

At 6pm, the babysitter arrived, and Katniss began to get ready for the date. She couldn’t stop smiling from the excitement desperately hoped that she would get laid tonight.

 

Looking at her phone, she realized it was turned off and quickly turned it back on hoping Peeta didn’t cancel. There were no missed calls or texts from her husband, which means he didn’t cancel. She continued to get ready, humming to an old blues tune and putting on Peeta’s favorite dress.

 

At 7:30, she still hadn’t heard from Peeta so she decided to call him. He picked up on the third ring, and responded in a tired voice, “Hey Katniss, what’s going on?”

 

“I’m sitting on our bed, in your favorite dress waiting for you,” she said in a low raspy voice realizing how much she needed this date. She needed him.

 

Peeta grew eerily quiet and let out a large sigh, “Your interview? It was today right? How did it go?”

 

Her smile disappeared immediately. He forgot. He never forgot. She didn’t respond so Peeta called out her name again and she groaned, “That’s what we were supposed to talk about tonight… remember our celebratory dinner… please tell me you’re on your way home.”

 

“Katniss, I’m sorry,” he responded quickly. She hung up her cell phone and threw it at the wall… thank god for the Otter Box.

 

Her phone rang again, but she was too busy shaking on her bed in anger to notice. She felt like a fool, getting dressed in his favorite, favorite perfume, favorite everything and it’s never enough. The house phone rang and she listened while the babysitter answered it and walked it up to her room. 

 

“I don’t want to hear it,” she whispered immediately.

 

“Listen. I’m leaving now… I’m leaving right now, we can still go.”

 

Katniss, unable to trust her words, hung up again. She relieved the babysitter, paying her for the entire night, and removed her dress to curl in a ball. That’s how he found her an hour and half later.

 

At 9, she felt the bed dip. 9pm…. He didn’t even leave right away. Nothing she or her children will ever do will warrant his immediate attention. She let out a loud sob and he began to rub her back trying to soothe her.

 

“Shhhh,” he whispered, “Hey, we can still go out right now!”

 

He sat on the bed and pulled her to his body holding her while she sobbed. The feeling of his arms wrapped around her was so comforting. He used to hold her like this often a long time ago.

 

When she could finally form a word, she responded, “The baby-sitter left.”

 

He loosened the grip on her and tilted her chin up to meet his eyes.

 

“Why did you do that? I told you I was coming home,” he asked softly.

 

She sat up from the bed, moving away from his body and holding his stare, “You said you would leave right away. Its 9pm….” His office was 10 minutes away, and they both knew it.

 

He looked down, almost embarrassed but his jaw tightened knowing this would likely be a fight, “Look Katniss.”

 

She quickly interrupted him, “Don’t ‘look Katniss’ me! I get it; you work. You work 6 days a week from 5 to 11:30. You work for us right? I think if anyone would get it, it would be me!”

 

“Yes I work,” he responded tightly, ”where is all of this coming from anyway. It is just dinner, we will make it up.”

 

She could feel her anger boil inside of her, but the kids were sleeping so she tried to keep her voice down, “You’re right,” she hissed, “It’s just dinner… like all of those other dinners you eat with us. Don’t be dense Peeta! We never see you, and you know it’s not just dinner. I got a job today I wanted to celebrate with my husband, but even that wasn’t good enough for you.”

 

Peeta reached out to touch her and she pulled away. He reached again and pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry. I know I’m gone a lot. I wish it didn’t always have to be this way, but I miss so much from your life and our kids. There is no excuse for that other than me wanting you to have the best.”

 

“You forgot. You never forget,” she whined, tired of yelling.

 

He began to wipe her tears with his thumb, soothing her. “I know, Kat. I know.”

 

She melted into his touch like she always did when he comforted her. His lips soon replaced his thumb. He began peppering kisses on her jaw until he fused his lips with her’s. “I’m sorry,” he murmured over her lips. He kissed her again. “I’m sorry.” And this pattern continued over and over again until he felt her return the kiss.

 

He held her firmly to deepen the kiss, and she moaned, spurring him on. He began to glide his hand under her shirt. When his thumb flicked over her nipple, she snapped and pulled away from him, putting as much distance between them as she could, “Listen Peeta! Something has to change. I can’t keep doing all of this by myself. I miss you most days and it’s not fair. I am asking you… once again… to please… please be here for me and for our kids. Please change something. I’m… I’m tired of having this fight.”

 

“Then stop starting it, “ he whispered under his breath, but Katniss heard it anyway and winced. Peeta coughed awkwardly to clear his voice, “Maybe it’s a good thing you got your job.”

 

He left her on the bed and walked to the bathroom to get ready to sleep. She laid down facing away from his side, and pulled out her phone. There was one unread email from her new job, more specifically Gale, inviting her to the Friday happy hour. She let out a large smile.

 

Maybe Peeta was right! Maybe it was a good thing she got her job

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. This is my first time writing, so please be nice. Thanks goes to titania522(ct522) for beta-ing this for me.
> 
> Come chat on tumblr: peaches6creme.tumblr.com


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